


Cleanse

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, M/M, Pining, Unrequited Love, but bc bkgd MichaelTerry hanky-panky lol, not rly underage but you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 06:36:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29746470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: And maybe, if he controls his appetite, he can flush the need for him out of his system.
Relationships: Anthony Goldstein/Michael Corner





	Cleanse

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

Michael runs upstairs, done for the night in the library. "Ah, Merlin, Slughorn's essays are going to be the death of me," he bemoans from his bed.

Terry rolls his eyes and shuts his book. "Don't be such a baby. It could be worse."

"How?"

"We could still have Snape for Potions."

He, Michael, and Anthony laugh together, even though Anthony has yet to say anything. Sometimes he doesn't need to say anything, because he's always been included. It's always been the three of them—the "Ravenclaw Trio," Anthony has heard some of the underclassmen say—and that likely never will change.

But, at that thought, Anthony's laughter dies down, and the smile on his face slides off, because things _have_ changed.

It's not just that Slughorn's their Potions professor. It's not just that the outside world is turning on its head with death and destruction. It's not just that the D.A. seems to be a thing of the past even though it happened only last year.

It's that Anthony can't sit by Michael anymore. It's that he can't study with Michael in the room. It's that he hides in the bathroom and then dives into his bed so that he doesn't have to happen to see Michael change at morning or at night.

Anthony blames it all on his hormones. Sometimes, when he's in a more speculative mood, he'll blame the circumstances instead.

He tries to convince himself that he only wants Michael because Terry's got Michael. Maybe one of these days he'll want Terry because Michael's got Terry!

But that day just refuses to show up.

So instead Anthony is resigned to struggling through moments like these, where all three of them laugh and then Anthony is lost outside the world those two have created just for them. Because those cocoa-colored eyes are not meant to land on him and those inky tresses will never fall on his shoulder and those flushed lips will never catch his own and those hands will never roam his body, touch his skin, seize him as they do Terry.

Anthony turns away as Terry "consoles" Michael over their workload. He wishes they'd wait for him to leave the room, though there are times when he's satisfied just enough to close the curtains around his four-poster.

Because there may be no getting rid of his desire for Michael, but at least he can pretend that the gasps and rocking and other assorted squelching noises are caused by him and Michael instead.

**Author's Note:**

> X3 Got a little hot there at the end, with the wet fantasies…! ;P But if you're reading this, you likely wanted more than that, *lol*! ;) Anywho, I like the angst here, especially since MichaelTerry is a well-loved ship (though I prefer AnthonyTerry). But maybe someday AnthonyMichael could work…? ;P Ah, well.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :]
> 
> 2017 note: *lol* Not much to say, tho I think I prefer my unhappy endings to occur when it's one-sided. When the love's requited, an unhappy ending just feels exponentially worse. ;w;


End file.
